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Well known for white-faced masks (Okuyi), the ethnic group that this was acquired from (Mpongwe) has two separate uses for masks like this.
Costumed ceremonies include rites of passage and funerary events.
This mask was used for the later. The typical Okuyi performer wears a…
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- Item Number: M-3109
- Provenance/Origin: Ogooue River Region, Gabon. Circa 1970s
- Composition: Wood
- Dimensions: 14" tall x 8" wide x 4.5" deep
- Weight: 3.75 pounds
- Price: $ 165.00 USD
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Bordering on Cameroon and Gabon, the Bulu are part of the larger Fang group and share cultural similarities.
UNIQUE? Yes, because the Bulu practice the ngi ritual… where members wear this “gorilla” mask to ward off sorcery and poisonings. This anti-witchcraft society whose leadership is…
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- Item Number: M-9174
- Provenance/Origin: Cameroon Grasslands, mid- to late- 1900s
- Composition: Wood, Wicker Binding, Kaolin Pigment
- Dimensions: 11" tall x 8" widest x 6" deep
- Weight: 1.5 pounds
- Price: $ 285.00 USD
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Sure, the Ibans / Dayaks were renowned for practicing headhunting to further territorial expansion. They had a fearsome reputation until the Europeans arrived with their colonization in the 1800s. Some headhunting episodes were reported into the mid-1900s.
There were rituals, ceremonies and festivals all…
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- Item Number: O-2751
- Provenance/Origin: Dayak, Indonesia, Circa 1940s. From a private collection
- Composition: Wood and metal stand
- Dimensions: 36.5" on stand x 1.5" diameter at widest point
- Weight: 2.25 pounds
- Price: $ 240.00 USD